A grain train pulls up alongside a cargo vessel at the Alliance Grain Terminal at Vancouver on Oct. 6, 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)

Grain commission proposes big inspection fee cut

Effective Aug. 1 the cost of outward inspection would be cut by 29 per cent

The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), whose role in Canadian grain quality assurance is under federal review, wants to cut its fees for four official grain inspection and official grain weighing services effective Aug. 1, the start of the new crop year. The change will save Canada’s grain sector millions of dollars over the next three […] Read more

Cutworms. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Prairie growers on lookout as insects seize opportunity

Dry conditions, delayed seeding lift pest counts

MarketsFarm — With most Prairie growers’ newly seeded crops already up against dry conditions, growers remain on the lookout for insects which further threaten the health of those seedlings. Considering the high prices of many crops this season, the potential damage would be more costly. John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, said there is a […] Read more


CN locomotives in Winnipeg. (Photo courtesy CN)

CN shareholder urges changes to Kansas City Southern deal

Fund manager also holds stake in CP

Reuters — Billionaire hedge fund manager Chris Hohn on Tuesday urged Canadian National Railway to abandon its $33.6 billion bid for Kansas City Southern unless the Canadian railway changed its agreement to drop a key feature that could invite more regulatory scrutiny. Hohn’s TCI Fund Management, which has a 2.93 per cent stake in CN, […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Peas, beans hold up in dry Manitoba

MarketsFarm — Of the pulses being planted in Manitoba this spring, field peas and dry beans appear the best able to handle the difficult drought conditions the province continues to experience throughout its growing areas. Field peas “have a relatively low water requirement, similar to dry beans,” Cassandra Tkachuk, production specialist with Manitoba Pulse and […] Read more


Barry Senft. (Supplied photo)

Ex-GFO CEO to manage Seeds Canada

Barry Senft to help build up merged seed-industry group

The four Canadian seed industry organizations now operating as Seeds Canada have named their first organizer-in-chief. Barry Senft, whose resume in Canadian agriculture includes stints as CEO for Grain Farmers of Ontario, executive director for the Canadian International Grains Institute, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission and second vice-president for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, becomes […] Read more

A Kansas City Southern (KCS) rail car at Toluca, Mexico on Oct. 1, 2018. (File photo: Reuters)/Edgard Garrido)

CN bid for U.S. railway poses greater risk to competition, DOJ says

Reuters — The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday that Canadian National Railway’s bid for U.S. railway operator Kansas City Southern appears to pose greater risks to competition than a rival agreement with Canadian Pacific Railway. The development comes as KCS on Thursday accepted CN’s $33.6 billion acquisition offer, upending the $29 billion deal […] Read more


A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

Kansas City Southern accepts new CN bid over CP’s

CN offers to cover KCS's breakup fee with CP

Reuters — U.S. railway operator Kansas City Southern said Thursday it had accepted Canadian National Railway’s $33.6 billion acquisition offer, upending a $29 billion deal with its competitor Canadian Pacific Railway. The development, first reported by Reuters, gives CP five business days to make a new offer for Kansas City Southern. Were CP to table […] Read more

Average sea surface temperature anomalies over the equatorial Pacific Ocean for the week centred on May 5, 2021 compared to 1981-2010 base period. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Nina done, U.S. CPC says

Neutral weather likely through summer

Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday La Nina has ended and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions are likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer. “ENSO neutral” refers to periods in which neither El Nino nor La Nina is present, often coinciding with the transition between the two weather patterns, […] Read more